Previews

GameSpy Exclusive: The Big, Bad BAMs of TERA Online

TERA Producer Chris Hager opens up about three of the game's "Big Ass Monsters."

The timing couldn't have been better. When Chris Hager, producer of the upcoming massive multiplayer online role-playing game TERA Online, contacted me to have a chat about the game's "Big-Ass Monsters" (known as BAMs), I had temporarily lost some of my faith in the genre. Just the night before, in fact, I had responded to a request to join some friends in another game's dungeon by saying that of course I'd be happy to press "1" over and over for 20 minutes. But Hager's monsters, combined with TERA's signature action combat, sounded like just the thing I needed to rekindle my interest. And after Hager provided GameSpy with some exclusive insights into the creation of the Teraliths and Kumases, two of the game's more impressive BAMs, I found myself eager to get my hands on this promising upcoming title.

These aren't your daddy's elites.

TERA's "Big-Ass Monsters" are exactly what they sound like. In almost every case, a BAM is a hulking creature that lumbers across the game world waiting to smack around foolhardy players who dare get in their way. They even have a key spot in the lore. "BAMs were originally created by the gods for their maligned purposes," Hager said. "They took regular creatures throughout the world and manipulated and mutated them into the BAMs you see today." These big boys were pushed back into frontier territory after the Valkyon federation was formed, Hager relates, but they've since started making their way back to the populated areas of the world after a series of wars reduced the world's numbers.

They make up a large part of the upper levels of the game, although they're not anywhere near as common as your standard quest fodder. Indeed, BAMs don't start appearing in the world until the player reaches Level 20 or so, but you'd better hope that you have a group with you if you'd like to tackle one when you see it. "I've to tried to solo these guys myself," Hager says, "and I have gotten my ass handed to me more times than I can count." Most importantly, TERA's developers intend for their BAMs to be a little unlike the elite enemies players have found in other MMOs, and they provided us with a few of the concept pieces to show how both Korean-based Bluehole Studios and American-based En Masse Entertainment went about accomplishing this task.

The first BAM I saw was the impressive Teralith, which is essentially a fresh take on the golems found in other MMOs. You'll usually find these guys guarding some important location in Tera's world, and you'll also encounter one named "Soulcrusher" in one of the game's more epic boss fights. Some of the Teraliths' distinguishing characteristics include a heart that beats more quickly as it approaches "tension" mode (better known as "enrage" in other games) as well as the ability to blend in with the rocky surroundings they're usually found in.

TERA's developers wanted to design a golem that was both familiar and unique.

Monster Concept Lead Artist, Junghyun Kim, points out that Teraliths indicate how TERA's designers are trying to breathe new life into the rather worn tropes of the fantasy genre. "Visually, we wanted to show how magic can bring something as mundane as stone to life," Kim says. "Teraliths were designed without faces or heads because we wanted to emphasize that these are pretty mindless constructs." Kim also felt it was important to avoid the many stereotypes associated with golems. "Initially, they would use spinning drills as their weapons, but that changed to have our Teraliths blast enemies from the hole in their chests." Best of all, these chest attacks are somewhat unpredictable. Players only have a split second to determine where the attack is going to land, particularly because the Teralith is spinning in the seconds leading up to the attack.

Hager also allowed us a private look into the making of the Kumases, which look the product of a wild night between a Night Elf and a 30-foot-tall Sumo wrestler. At one point, these monstrosities were a peaceful bunch, but they soon started lusting after the many powerful artifacts throughout TERA and decided to take out their frustrations on the game's often barely clothed inhabitants. "Kumases range far and wide," Kim said, "but lurk near artifacts, relics, and sacred sites."

Over time, Kumases evolved from a distinctly Asian design to something more appealing to a world audience.

"The initial concept for Kumases incorporated a lot of Asian symbolism, but that changed to incorporate imagery more common to the West," Kim said. "The basic movements, however, stayed the same--and true to their sumo wrestling roots." Those movements include a screen-buckling leap into the air, which crushes any players unfortunate enough to be caught beneath the creature's titanic derriere upon landing. Kumases also have a remarkable set of lightning-based abilities, which start from the lightning rods along the beings' backs and then shoot forth from the golden bands around their wrists, fingers, and toes.